Neighbors in the house

This Monday morning I was up at around 6:30 a.m. and I felt the need to get a haircut. I've been buzz-cutting my hair for years now and it's been the norm for me to do it first thing in the morning as soon as I wake up. I do this because it is the time of the day when I have the most energy. What was different about today's hair cutting though was that instead of doing this activity in the bedroom bathroom like I normally do, I gathered the necessary tools and headed to the garage.

I went to the garage because I wanted to observe and watch next door while I cut my hair. Since my last post here on Safe Streets Hawaii it has been pretty apparent that there are folks living in the vacant house next door. Every night we see the light go on, but not all the lights, only the lights toward the back of the house in the back bedroom. At times the exterior lights outside the garage will go on for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, but most of the time they're off. Those exterior lights are very bright, so bright in fact that we'll never miss seeing them when they do get turned on.

There was one evening that a truck came by and dropped off a sofa. The person with the truck stuck around for a little while to talk to whoever is living there, a male.

I'm not sure if they have two vehicles or one, but they have at least the one that gets parked outside. The car that is kept outside is a Nissan Maxima, white, and 4-door. It looks like a model from the early 1990's. I'm thinking that they may have another vehicle which they keep in the garage, but I'm not certain.

So, I went outside at about 6:45 a.m. and started cutting my hair. I periodically would glance up to see if there was any activity there at this house, or see if anyone would come outside. I was also listening carefully, I wanted to at least hear some activity there. But, no, there was nothing, not even any sound. The only thing I could hear was folks moving about at the neighbor's that are to my immediate west.

Time went by and it took me close to an hour to finish up my hair cut. All this time I observed nothing but the white Nissan Maxima parked in the driveway. When I was through cleaning up myself and my stuff and started to head back into the house it was 7:40 a.m. 

Some time between then and now (8:45 a.m.), while I'm back in the house, the Maxima left. It's no longer parked in the driveway. I'll keep observing, keep watching, and keep taking notes. I'm curious to see what happens the next time the yard men need to come back, or the bank survey takers come back and make their rounds. What will happen next?

Update On Current Situation

It was this past Saturday night that we noticed more activity at the vacant house next to us.

Earlier in the day the couple came by for a survey for the bank as I mentioned in my previous post. At about 8:30 p.m. the lights over the garage turned on for a few minutes, then back off again. The lights in the house were on and stayed on  throughut the evening all the way up until I went to bed two hours later. So, it looks like whoever was in there would be spending the night.

The following day we left for a few hours in the morning, and when we returned we saw that the garage door wasn't shut all the way. There was about a six inch gap from the floor and the bottom of the garage door.

A while later in the day someone came outside and was walking behind the house in the backyard. My wife or myself didn't get a clear enough look to provide a description.

That evening a car left from the garage. We in't notice it returning but that night the lights were on again and it looked like there were occupants spending the night.

More Visitors

Yesterday, Friday, September 7 the two yard men that routinely come by and cut the grass next door came by in the afternoon and did their duties.

Today, at 3p.m., a different couple stopped by the vacant house next to us. It was a man and a woman, and they were surveying the lot and house, taking pictures and walking around the property. At one point they seemed to enter the house through the back door of the garage. We were taking notice but not paying close attention. Ten minutes later, they were outside our window knocking on our wall. We answered and had a short conversation with them through our window.

The lady's first question was if someone had move in to the house next door. We (my wife and I), were mentioning that we were wondering that ourselves, and that there has been some peculiar activity there. She said that she was a private contractor what was hire by the bank as well as the yard men. It was the guys who maintain the yard that noticed that there were some belongings in the house and it had appeared that someone had started to move in. That was what had prompted them to contact the bank or persons who hired them which led to today's inspection.

We continued by adding that we saw a moving van back into the garage once, and a couple of guys hanging out on the porch afterward. We also mentioned to them that I spoke to someone who claimed that they were 'homesteaders'. This woman today told us that she had heard of people that called themselves that and that they try to move in to foreclosures. She told us that these people had change the locks and they had just now changed them again. She then asked if we would just call the police in case we see activity of the same nature because the house is not sold yet and still in the banks possession. We asked what bank she's from but she said that it was confidential.

They went back over to the house and left around ten minutes later.

Different Kind of Activity

Things have been quite mellow with the neighbors to my immediate west. The bleach headed young man that I used to write about is no longer around. In fact the entire family entity that once was a constant neighborhood disruption has moved out. Yes, it has happened. The packed up their half a dozen noisy cars, misbehaving children, and shade cloth that was fenced around the entire yard to hide who knows what and left! Finally!

I'm writing this entry for an entirely different reason today. It's long overdue actually, but I haven't been diligent blogging here in Safe Streets Hawaii unfortunately, so I'll start with today and try my best to recall previous events.

The house right beside mine (to my immediate left on North Puni Mauka Loop) has been in foreclosure for over two years now. There are a couple of men that come by to mow and weed-eat the grass every month or so. Today they came by for their monthly duties. I've been trying to find out who to contact concerning that house so I decided to go out today and see if these guys could give me some information. It was about 12:30p.m. when I noticed there were two men. One of them had begun weed eating and the other was near his truck (White GMC/Chevy 4 door full size) taking pictures of the house.

By the time I went out there several minutes later, this man, in his mid forties, had started up and began using his push mower. I waved at him and he waved back and walked towards me. He turned the machine off and came up to shake my hand. I introduced myself and he said his name was John. I asked him who I could contact about the house and his reply was "Why, do you want to buy it?" I replied "yeah, maybe", he came back saying something about a lady had already bought it, & in was in escrow. I made a mention to him that I would like someone to call in case I had something to report about the house. I asked who hires him to do the yard and he couldn't give me a direct answer saying something about there being several banks involved. I asked if he knew of someone I could call and he replied with a "no" the started his mower back up and went on working.

That was that. They finished doing their yard cutting and left. I will now try my best to recall the events leading up to today.

It was really quiet there at this house next to us for a good long while. There were tenants living there for about a year, and around late 2009 or early 2010, they moved out and no one has lived there since.

There was a season where the grass got really long and the house seemed neglected. This season was followed by a couple of guys who started taking care of the yard, as I mentioned earlier. Several months ago, we noticed a couple in a small SUV stop by with a small child. They started carrying small boxes and items into the garage through the back garage door. At first we thought we were getting new neighbors and were glad to see some kind of activity besides just the yard work. They left but returned in just fifteen or twenty minutes, returning with more small items. They brought it again into the garage through the back door. They left again and by this time I was out in my carport in the hopes that they'd come back and I could meet these people. Sure enough, they returned and this time I'm in my carport looking in their direction but they wouldn't make eye contact with me. At this point they started retrieving their items that they brought in to the garage, put them back in their vehicle and drove off. We never saw these people again.

The very next day, a couple came by to the house next door, a man and a woman. The woman had a clipboard and was taking the electric meter reading, pictures, and then went into the house. I didn't see if she entered through the back garage door or front door. I went outside to talk to them and when I went out the man was on the porch. I called out to him and he walked over to me. He was nice, and explained that his wife was hired by a bank to check on the house an that he came with her so she wouldn't be alone. I regret that I didn't make note what he told me his name was. When his wife came out I got to talk to her, she introduced herself as Ruth. I told them about what had happened there the day before, and that I thought these people were going to try and sleep there. I asked Ruth if she had a business card but she said she just started this job and didn't have one. I had a short, pleasant conversation with them, mostly about the property they were on, then they left. I asked two last things before they took off and that was what bank was she from and who could I contact regarding the house. She was unclear but said something about confidentiality and they took off. They return every so often to take meter readings and pictures but I didn't speak with them again.

Several weeks after I spoke with the couple, three people stopped by and were walking around the property and through the house. Two adults, women, and a child. The more that things went on next door, the more my curiosity grew, so naturally I went out to talk with them and be an inquisitive neighbor. It turned out I knew who the older of the two women were. I had met her and her husband before and worked with them at my previous place of employment. I had a nice chat with her. She introduced me to her hanai niece, who was with her. It was her niece and her husband who were buying the house and  would be moving in shortly. I asked if it was on the market, because there were never any real estate signs posted. She told me that they were 'homesteaders' and they get to buy it before it goes on the market. I asked "What is that, homesteaders?", and she said that it was good way to get a house, and that she'd tell me about it sometime. She also mentioned that was the way they acquired their home which was by the ocean. They left after a short while, and I seen them return after a month or so. I talked to them only once.

About a month ago my wife and I went away for a weekend. When we returned home it was a Monday  night at about 9:30 p.m. Were surprised to see that the porch lights were on at the house next door. We thought maybe someone had finally moved in! But, it turns out that there was no one staying there and the lights stayed on all night and into the next day. I didn't notice at what point they went off, or how, but by Tuesday night they were no longer on.

I blog about thing that happen near my house to keep a watchful eye, keep a good record, and keep the streets safe.